When you buy fresh mozzarella or any other cheeses at Di Palo's Fine Foods, there's a good chance fourth-generation owner Lou Di Palo will tell you a bit about what you are buying. Customer Barbara Boriotti remembers coming to the shop as a young girl growing up in the neighborhood. "It's very friendly and just very comfortable," said Boriotti, who was buying a variety of items to bring to family on Long Island. 

For 100 years, Di Palo's has been part of the scene in Manhattan's Little Italy. Technically, it started when Lou's great-grandfather Savino Di Palo arrived in New York from southern Italy in 1903. Seven years later, he opened a Latteria, a dairy, making fresh cheeses and selling milk too.